


I know the secrets you could never tell

by meganseverafter



Series: When we live such fragile lives, it’s the only way we survive [5]
Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: F/M, from chiddy's pov just to spice it up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-27
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2019-05-14 06:21:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14764272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meganseverafter/pseuds/meganseverafter
Summary: Patrick has known themtoolong and been around themfartoo much for them to be able to “hide” this…thingfrom him.





	I know the secrets you could never tell

**Author's Note:**

> Idk where this came from, but it was kind of fun. Might do some more from others' perspectives. We'll see.

The most hilarious part about all of this is that he _knows_ they think they’re clever, that they’ve hidden whatever the hell it is they are to each other from everyone around them. And for most of the people they know, it’s worked. The thing is, though, Patrick has known them _too_ long and been around them _far_ too much for them to be able to “hide” this… _thing_ from him. He’s listened to Scott’s drunken rambles about Tessa fifty too many times to simply believe they’re _just_ friends who have never touched each other’s special parts. Less so because of the undeniable chemistry they have, or even the slip ups like “She’s so restless” because he _knows_ them, and really, even without sex probably being a factor, they’ve always seemed _next level_ close. But it’s the times that she’s had a boyfriend that really confirmed it for Patrick. Because even though Scott pretty much _always_ had a girlfriend of his own when Tessa dared to date someone that wasn’t Scott, he’d still get… supposedly “not jealous” about the whole thing (“Seriously, Chiddy. It’s _fine_. Tess is a big girl… She’s free to date and… _sleep with_ any douche-nozzle she wants.” His grimace and the way he looked like he might vomit when talking about Tessa having sex certainly sold Patrick on the whole Scott Does Not Care About Tessa’s Dating Life Except For As A Perfectly Normal And Platonic Friend thing. Absolutely. No question). 

He’s talked it over with the other skaters, usually while they’re on tour and Tessa and Scott have both claimed to be too tired to go out for drinks, conspicuously _never_ while standing together; they’ve always turned down the offer when asked while they were alone but always agreed to go out if asked together. As far as Patrick can tell, no one else has caught on to this phenomenon and he hasn’t bothered to clue anyone in on anything because he is first and foremost Tessa and Scott’s friend. Gossiping about their love lives is only allowed if the other person brings it up and is also supplying the supporting information. All of the things Patrick notices over the years are kept to himself (until it comes time for his speech at their wedding, years later. Because it’s finally time for these idiots to realize just how _not subtle_ they were). 

He can’t even accurately estimate just how many times he’s covered for them without even knowing what it was they were doing. The amount of times he claimed Scott overslept and was finishing up getting ready in their shared room when in reality, he hadn’t even _seen_ Scott since dinner the night before, when they took separate cabs back to the hotel started leaning dramatically towards him looking like a suspect in Scott’s death, should he wind up dead in a ditch. What a series of headlines _that_ would be. Thankfully, Scott always shows up (slightly late, with coffees and the excuse of a long line, shortly after Tessa arrived, flushed and looking like she’s hiding a secret.) 

The real issue that creates confusion among even their friends and families is that they’re deluding _themselves_ just as much as they are everyone else. Scott’s crap at keeping most things a secret, but they’re all things that either won’t end the world if they got out (like surprise parties. He’s _terrible_ at keeping surprise parties under wraps. To plan a surprise party for someone else when Scott’s a guest requires _also_ surprising Scott for it to work) or that will only affect him. Anything that could even _touch_ Tessa, and his pathological need to protect her kicks in. Which is how he’s able to keep it vague, so you’re never quite sure where exactly they stand. Tessa though, she’s a _terrible_ liar. She’s gotten better, thanks to the media training, but she doesn’t quite have lying to people close to her down. Her tell has _always_ been that when she’s lying, she can’t quite look at you. She’ll be perfectly fine until she hits the lie and then her eyes will focus on something just over your shoulder, only while speaking the lie and then she’ll refocus when she’s back to the truth. The single thing she’s gotten _flawless_ at lying about is what she and Scott get up to. And Chiddy only knows because he _caught_ her in the lie and to this day, she nor Scott have any idea. 

They’d had a blissful day off in the middle of the 2016 tour season, even _practice_ was optional for the day, so half the group slept in and went for brunch while the other half did whatever tickled their fancy. Tessa and Scott had been asked to brunch separately so, of course, they declined. According to Kaitlyn, Tessa intended to sleep until at _least_ 2pm and then might do some sightseeing. Scott had told Patrick that he wanted to go to the gym but might hook up with the group later. Both were perfectly acceptable and quite predictable responses. Patrick had some suspicions because he, like most of Tessa and Scott’s fans, suspected _something_ was up, but said nothing because there wasn’t any reason to bother with bringing it up. The only issue was that he got back from brunch sooner than anticipated, apparently. 

Now, Patrick isn’t what one would call a “loud guy”. He has his moments, like anyone else, but doesn’t typically _make an entrance_ to everywhere he goes, much less his hotel room at 2:15 in the afternoon (he’d specifically checked the time before going in, on the off chance he was _right_ about his friends being _extra_ friendly with each other, with the assumption that if Tessa had moved to his and Scott’s room for her 2pm “sleep in”, they’d at least be _dressed_ , if not awake by then). So, he’s pretty quiet as he walks into the room to the sound of Tessa’s laugh. Normal enough, and he _almost_ says hello before it becomes a _moan_ and _that’s_ when he looks at the mirror along the walkway into the proper bedroom section of the room that shows _just enough_ of the room in its reflection that Patrick can see a _very_ shirtless Tessa on Scott’s _very_ naked lap with his mouth all over her chest. Needless to say, with wide eyes Patrick bid a hasty and extra quiet retreat to the hotel bar. Unfortunately, they didn’t serve eye bleach there, so he had to settle for trying to drink the memory away until the group rounded him up for dinner that evening. 

It was hard making eye contact with either of them, but as he watched them interact at dinner, he realized that there is an astronomically high chance that they’d been doing _that_ since either long before he met them or very soon after because they were acting exactly like they always had. Always aware of the other person’s body in relation to their own, touching when near one another, silently conversing with each other during lulls in conversations with everyone else, sharing their meals to the point where no one can be sure who ordered which dish. By the end of the dinner, Patrick was able to accept that nothing had really _changed_ except that he had confirmation of what he’d always kind of wondered about. 

But that didn’t stop Patrick from wondering how they kept it so secret this whole time. He’d decided to ask Tessa about her day because he knew her tell and he could ask Scott about his later on, once they got back to the room. He’d cornered her at the back of the group while they waited for the walk signal to let them cross, starting with a simple “I feel like I haven’t seen you all day, what’d you get up to?”

What shocked him _most_ was when she looked him dead in the eye as she said, “Oh, you know, slept in pretty late and ended up just getting lunch down at the hotel restaurant before meeting up with Scott to watch some cheesy movies in his room. We just wanted a down day, you know?” 

He was prevented from digging in further by the very man himself clapping Patrick on the shoulder and asking what they were talking about. It wasn’t until years later, when they finally went public with their relationship that Patrick finally asked how the hell they got away with it so long. 

“Oh yeah, I remember that day! We actually _had_ watched cheesy movies. You probably walked in on us between movies. The key was that we always actually _did_ do the things we’d claimed we were doing so that it was never actually a _lie_. It just wasn’t a comprehensive list of our activities.” Scott had explained, laughing after a moment before adding, “But don’t ever tell T you saw that. She’ll never be able to look you in the eye again. Just say you saw us kissing once or something if it comes up.” He’d suggested and as much as Patrick didn’t like lying, he did so anyway, because what’s one more added to the mountain he’s told to keep his friends’ secret safe?

**Author's Note:**

> hit me up at @meggymoowebb on twitter bc i'm bored af and want more inspiration about these morons.


End file.
